Automotive Business Review February 2015 | Page 56

the fink

In lieu of…

Bikers Corner

Meet South Africa’s four motorcycle
Grand Prix heroes! by Gavin Foster
Over the years a number of South African motorcycle racers have gone on to race in the motorcycle Grand Prix
world championships. Just three have won Grand Prix races, and two of those – Kork Ballington and Jon Ekerold went on to win world championships.
So who was the best? Based on
results alone, it has to be Ballington,
who was actually born in Rhodesia
but grew up in KZN. Kork won 31
world championship Grand Prix races
in the 250 and 350cc classes – 14
in the 350cc class and 17 on 250cc
machinery. Of those, the first four were
on privateer Yamaha machinery and
the rest on factory Kawasaki tandemtwin two strokes. His exploits earned
him both the 250 and 350cc titles in
’78 and ’79, and he would have more
than likely taken his third consecutive
250cc world championship in 1980,
but for ill health. That year saw him
drop the 350cc class to race on the
uncompetitive Kawasaki KR500 four
cylinder two stroke that was still under
development. He stayed active in
the 250 class though, and finished
runner-up to Anton Mang on another
factory Kawasaki with 87 points to
Mang’s 128. Ballington missed out on
three races that year, after falling victim
to peritonitis, and Mang won two of
those. Ballington won five GPs that
season and earned a second to Mang
in the only other race he completed,
while Mang won a total of four races
– two while Ballington was absent
- and finished second to Ballington
four times. Ballington’s 500cc career
was also reasonably successful,
considering that the factory bike was
both too long and too heavy. In three
years on the 500cc machine he finished
12th, 8th and 9th in the championship,
with two